Campaigners yesterday demanded a review of spy laws after it emerged councils use them to track dog-fouling and litterbugs.

Some have applied the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa) more than 100 times in the last 12 months to conduct surveillance - with Durham County Council top of the table at 144.

The revelations follow the controversy over the case of a family in Poole, Dorset, who were tracked covertly for almost three weeks to check they lived in a school catchment area.

Some councils claim the surveillance was mainly employed to combat rogue traders, benefit fraud, counterfeit goods and antisocial behaviour. But research also revealed the law - designed to fight terrorism - was used over a breach of planning law, animal welfare and disabled parking.

"You can care about serious crime and terrorism without throwing away our privacy with a snoopers' charter. The law must be reformed to require sign-off by judges not selfauthorisation by over-zealous bureaucrats."

Simon Davies of Privacy International said: "There have to be limits on surveillance by councils who do not work within the spirit of the Act or the letter."

Sir Simon Milton of the Local Government Association called for a debate, but added: "It's wrong to suggest these are specifically anti-terror powers.

They control how public bodies carry out surveillance."

The Press Association contacted 97 councils, of which 46 replied. They used the Act 1,343 times in 12 months.

They carried out physical surveillance 989 times and billing information on 180 occasions.

Four - Derby, Bolton, Gateshead and Hartlepool - used surveillance to probe dog fouling and Bolton used it to find out about littering.

144 Number of times Durham county council used Ripa powers in the last 12 months